Baseball in the 1960's

Tuesday, July 20, 2021

The Braves Last Home Game in Milwaukee

TRIVIA WINNER: Congrats to Glenn Schubert of Bradenton, FL who correctly stated Jim Bunning had four 19 game winning seasons. The Prize: Starbucks Gift Card.

NEW TRIVIA CONTEST: By answering the TRIVIA QUESTION CORRECTLY you are automatically entered into a weekly drawing for a Starbucks Gift Card. YOU MUST ENTER VIA THE EMAIL AT THE END OF THIS COLUMN. Don't forget to put your mailing address in with the answer so if you win we can send you the gift card in the mail.

Just a note to add; If you look at the top right hand corner of the side bar you will see a link to daily sports scores. We made an agreement with Baseball 24 in a mutual sharing situation. Hope its helpful to fans of several sports.

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NEW TRIVIA QUESTION: Braves pitcher Tony Clonigar became better know for a hitting feat than his pitching. What was that feat and when was it accomplished? ?

ANSWER to the Trivia question in the previous column: Jim Bunning had four 19 game winning seasons.

September 22, 1965 saw what was a meaningless game for the two teams involved, but not for the fans. While the Milwaukee Braves were headed for a fifth place finish and the Los Angeles Dodgers were on their way to the National League pennant, for the fans, it was the end of an era.

(BRAVES WORLD SERIES REUNION HIGHLIGHT)

All 12,577 faithful turned out to see the great Sandy Koufax square off against Wade Blasingame in a battle of lefty aces. Blasingame would win 16 games in 1965, Koufax would win 26. They didn't get to see much of the two pitchers. The Braves scored five runs off of an unusually shaky Koufax and Blasingame gave up six runs in 4.2 innings to the lackluster hitting Dodgers.

However, none of that mattered to the fans who were there to see the Braves last game ever as the home team in Milwaukee. The team was moving to Atlanta for the 1966 season after moving to Milwaukee from Boston in 1953. While in Milwaukee they won two NL pennants and one World Series title. Their fortunes would be better in Atlanta. In Boston they did win two World Series and three pennants dating back to 1876 when they were the Boston Beaneaters. Milwaukee was their shortest stay by far.

It was an interesting game which featured no less than six Hall of Famers, four of them on the Braves. Hank Aaron, Eddie Mathews, Phil Niekro and Joe Torre were the Braves while Koufax and Don Drysdale were the Dodgers. Drysdale did not pitch in the game, but he did pinch-hit. He was recognized as one of the best hitting pitchers in the history of the game although he grounded out.

It was an ominous start for the Braves who saw the Dodgers open up a 1-0 lead in the first. In the second, singles by Torre, Gene Oliver and Mathews loaded the bases for light hitting Frank Bolling. Bolling belted a Koufax pitch for a grand slam to give the Braves a 4-1 lead, stunning the Dodger left-hander.

It must have really shaken the usually unshakable Sandy because he gave up a solo shot to Mack Jones to lead off the third followed by a single to Aaron, and manager Walt Alston had seen enough. Howie Reed came in to relieve Koufax. After Torre hit into a double play, Oliver hit one to left which Lou Johnson could not handle and the not-so-speedy Oliver rounded the bases for an inside-the-park home run. The Braves led 6-1.

In the fourth, rookie second sacker Jimmy Lefebvre homered with a man aboard to cut the lead to 6-3. In the fifth the roof caved in on Blasingame. Perhaps he was tired after hitting a double himself the inning prior and remaining at second base for what seemed like an eternity. He was stranded there and walked to the mound to take on L-A in the fifth.

It was typical of the Dodgers to score low in 1965 and this time they put it all together in Dodger fashion. Three walks, a pair of stolen bases and two singles combined for three runs and it was tied. Blasingame left with two out, giving way to Billy O'Dell.

Dodger relief ace, Ron Perranoski came in to pitch the fifth. Usually reserved for the eighth or even the ninth, Alston called on his closer to give rest to a beleaguered bullpen. All Perranoski did was pitch six (YES SIX) scoreless innings, giving up three hits and walking four.

Over the last two of those innings he faced a very young Phil Niekro. Niekro pitched two scoreless as well and they went into the 11th tied at six. Chi-Chi Olivo couldn't hold Los Angeles. After Drysdale grounded out, Maury Wills laid down a beautiful bunt and legged it out. He stole second. Jim Gilliam was intentionally walked and Olivo gave way to Dick Kelley. Kelley quickly got Willie Davis to fly out but Lou Johnson singled up the middle to score Wills and the Dodgers led 7-6.

The Braves had a chance in the bottom of the inning. Bob Miller came in to save it. With one out Jones hit an infield single bringing Aaron to the plate. He hit a sharp drive to center and the quick Davis grabbed it and doubled up Jones at first to end the game.

It was the last time the Milwaukee faithful would see the Braves in County Stadium and it was fitting the great Henry Aaron would be the guy who would turn out the lights. Eleven days later the Braves would close out the season, again against the Dodgers but this time in Los Angeles. It was another loss, 3-0 with Milwaukee getting only three hits. Aaron did not play and the final recorded out by a Milwaukee Braves player was by Mike de la Hoz.

It also pretty much marked the end of the line for slugger Frank Thomas. He went 1-4 for the Braves in that final game and was released at the beginning of the 1966 season. Signed by the Cubs he appeared in five games as a pinch-hitter, going 0-5 with a strikeout. He was released in June and retired. He hit 286 homers with a lifetime .266 batting average for eight NL teams including the Milwaukee Braves twice. A fitting end.

Milwaukee would be without a team until 1970 when the Seattle Pilots, nearly bankrupt after one season, shuttered the stadium in the great northwest and headed off to the Midwest where they became the Milwaukee Brewers. Braves players who continued a few years of stardom in Atlanta of course were Aaron, Niekro, Torre, Jones, Felipe Alou, Tony Clonigar, Denny Lemaster and many more.

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SEND YOUR ANSWERS TO; brillpro@gmail.com
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Need to get out of a baseball hitting slump, or a golf swing slump? Order my new book "Beating the Slump; An athlete's guide to a better career." See it on Amazon for only $5.99. That is for the Paperback, you can also order Kindle on that link. You can also order paperback copies directly from me via the email below for my other books.

You can get a signed paper back copy of the above book "Tales of My Baseball Youth - a child of the sixties" for $15 Shipping Included

Use PayPal to brillpro@prodigy.net or contact us at the same email for other payment.

Thank you to those of you who purchased my book after reading this column.

Monday, July 12, 2021

Really Bad Forgotten Trades of the 1960s

TRIVIA WINNER: Congrats to Scott Hitchcox of Portage, Michigan who correctly identified Orlando Cepeda as the 1966 Cardinals regular who failed to hit a triple. The Prize: Starbucks Gift Card.

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NEW TRIVIA QUESTION: Jim Bunning only won 20 games once. How many times did the Hall of Famer win 19 games in a season?

ANSWER to the Trivia question in the previous column: Orlando Cepeda was the lone 1966 Cardinals regular who failed to hit a triple in 1966.

There were the obvious terrible winter trades but below are some of the worst which backfired. Everyone remembers Lou Brock for Ernie Broglio and of course Frank Robinson for Milt Pappas, but how about these.

The 1967 Pirates could hit despite the fall off from the Lumber Company of 1966. The club still needed pitching and thought one great pitcher would put them over the top. They set their eyes on one of the all-time greats; Jim Bunning, a future HOFer. The Phillies needed youth, the Bucs needed a Horse and Bunning was coming off another amazing season with a 2.29 ERA and a 17-15 recording while leading the league with 40 starts, 302 innings and 253 strike outs. He also led the league in shutouts with six. The perfect fit.

In return the Pirates send starting pitcher Woody Fryman to the Phils in a multi-player deal which included future all-star second baseman, Don Money. It totally backfired for Pittsburgh, totally was a winner for Philadelphia.

Bunning had the worst year of his career in Pittsburgh in 1968, ending 4-14 with an 3.88 ERA, was traded to the Dodgers the following season and while coming back at 13-10 in 1969, was released. Fryman went onto pitch into the 1980s and won 141 games, Money (a four time all-star) had a 16 year career, batting .261 with 176 homers.

The 1964 Cleveland Indians finished fourth in the AL and needed some power to compete, so they went after a real slugger; Rocky Colavito. In what turned out to be a massive three team trade in January 1965, the Indians got Colavito from Kansas City. They gave up, to the White Sox, future stars Tommie Agee, Tommy John and slugging catcher John Romano.

Colavito did slug 56 homers and drive in 180 runs in the following two seasons but the club only improved to fifth place both years. What the Indians had hoped for didn't work. Evidently they figured they could finish in the second division with the Rock, they could finish in the second division without him. They shipped him to the White Sox for Jim King. Colavito never regained his form and hit 32 homers the rest of his career which ended at age 33 in 1968 with the Yankees.

Giving up Colavito proved to be a good thing but the return didn't improve the A's by much. The players they got, Mike Hershberger, Jim Landis and Fred Talbot were average players at best during their time in Kansas City.

A third trade involved a couple of minor league players and is the "who would have thunk it?" trade. The White Sox had a super minor leaguer who had been in their system for some time and he ended up in the Angels organization during the year of expansion. Joe Hicks was a pretty good slugger which the new Washington Senators liked. The Angels liked a young pitcher the Sens had signed by the name of Dean Chance. In December of 1960, they swapped the two players.

In two minor league seasons Chance went 22-12 with ERA's at 2.94 and 3.13. What the Angels saw in Chance and what the Senators saw in Hicks, only somebody in the stratosphere would know. Chance went on to become one of the best pitchers of the era. Twice he won 20 games and finished with 128 wins. Hicks came to bat only 455 times in his big league career, batting .221 with 12 homers. He was out of the big leagues by 1964 but continued to play in the minors through 1966. He did however hit 107 minor league homers over 11 seasons.

                             SEND YOUR ANSWERS TO; brillpro@gmail.com
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Need to get out of a baseball hitting slump, or a golf swing slump? Order my new book "Beating the Slump; An athlete's guide to a better career." See it on Amazon for only $5.99. That is for the Paperback, you can also order Kindle on that link. You can also order paperback copies directly from me via the email below for my other books.

You can get a signed paper back copy of the above book "Tales of My Baseball Youth - a child of the sixties"  for $15 Shipping Included

Use PayPal to brillpro@prodigy.net or contact us at the same email for other payment.

Thank you to those of you who purchased my book after reading this column.

Tuesday, July 6, 2021

The Catcher with 13 Triples; Tim McCarver

TRIVIA WINNER: Congrats to Peter Nowell of La Mesa, CA, who correctly identified Tommie Sisk as the pitcher who recorded the first Save in MLB's San Diego Padres history. The Prize: Starbucks Gift Card.

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NEW TRIVIA QUESTION: While Tim McCarver led the 1966 Cardinals with 13 triples followed by Lou Brock with 12, nearly every position player on the team had at least one triple. Two bench players did not have a triple that season and one regular player did not. Name the regular player who did not have a triple for the Cardinals in 1966.

ANSWER to the Trivia question in the previous column: Tommie Sisk recorded the first ever Save in a MLB Padres uniform.

It's hard to imagine a catcher leading the league in triples but in 1966 the Cardinals Tim McCarver did exactly that. He gathered 13 of them! In fact, he's the only catcher to ever solely lead the league, either league, in triples in the history of modern baseball dating back to 1900. In 1972 Carlton Fisk tied for the league lead in the AL with Joe Rudi. No catcher besides McCarver led the majors in triples.

The 1966 season was an interesting one for the Cardinal catcher. He had been the regular at the position for the past two seasons. He played in more games this season than any other with 150, coming off his lowest of the 1960s the previous year at 113. It was his career high. He made the All-star team for the first time, he had the most hits (149) in his career, and his most at bats (543).

Despite McCarver's efforts the club finished 6th in the National League, well out of contention. The following year however, they rebounded, McCarver again shined and they won the pennant and the World Series.

The fact McCarver hit 13 triples in 1966 was a real phenomenon. Busch Stadium was moderately big but it wasn't like Forbes Field or Yankee Stadium with "triple alleys." It was only 386 to the power alleys and 414 to center. Interestingly enough, seven of the 13 triples were on the road. Of the 13 he hit one off of Sandy Koufax in what was the last and best year of Sandy's career. It came at Dodger Stadium. His last was on September first at home, and he hit two in the spacious Astrodome, but none in Pittsburgh's Forbes Field.

The rest of McCarver's career was involved in controversy on and off the field. Comments he made as a broadcaster infuriated several players and some fans. He was also involved in the Curt Flood trade to the Phillies which touched off the battle over the "reserve" clause.

Despite his 1966 prowess with the league leading 13 triples, he never came close to double digits again in the three bagger department. The most he ever hit aside from 1966 was seven. His career total was 57 over 21 years or 2.71 per year. Subtract the 1966 season and you get 2.0 per year. To say it was a phenomenal season for the Cardinal catcher, would be an understatement.

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